Clinical psychologist and frequently maligned motivational speaker Jordan Peterson became visibly emotional when asked by Piers Morgan on Wednesday to comment on the villain in Olivia Wilde’s new movie — a so-called “incel community” leader the actress-turned-director says she based on him.
Speaking with Interview Magazine in early September, the former “House M.D.” co-star stated the bad guy, played by Chris Pine, in her new movie, “Don’t Worry Darling,” was inspired by the “insane” speaker.
“We based that character on this insane man, Jordan Peterson, who is this pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community,” the actress stated. “You know the incels?”
Wilde then went on to define the woke term as referring to “basically disenfranchised, mostly white men, who believe they are entitled to sex from women.”
“And they believe that society has now robbed them—that the idea of feminism is working against nature, and that we must be put back into the correct place,” she continued, without offering a shred of evidence to support her offensive claim.
“Yeah, they’re actually succeeding in many different ways,” Wilde informed readers. “But this guy Jordan Peterson is someone that legitimizes certain aspects of their movement because he’s a former professor, he’s an author, he wears a suit, so they feel like this is a real philosophy that should be taken seriously.”
No one asked the filmmaker why anyone should take her seriously, but when Fox Nation host Piers Morgan asked Peterson about it on Wednesday’s edition of “Uncensored,” the negative characterization of him and his work with “demoralized” young men moved him to tears.
(Video: YouTube)
“Is that you?” Morgan asked Peterson. “Are you the intellectual hero to these people?”
“Sure,” he responded with a gently defiant tone. “Why not?”
As he struggled to keep his composure, Peterson explained, “You know people have been after me for a long time because I’ve been speaking to disaffected young men. You know, what a terrible thing to do that is?”
“I thought the marginalized were supposed to have a voice,” he continued, his voice wavering under the swell of emotion. “It’s very difficult to understand how demoralized people are, and certainly many young men are in that category.”
“You get these casual insults, these incels — what do they mean?” he asked. “Is it like, well, these men, they don’t know how to make themselves attractive to women who are very picky and good for them. Women, like, be picky. That’s your gift, man. Demand high standards from your men. ”
“Fair enough,” he continued. “But all these men who are alienated, it’s like they’re lonesome and they don’t know what to do, and everyone piles abuse on them.”
Always thoughtful and deeply self-reflective, Peterson has not ruled out seeing the movie after watching a preview of the film. After a family meeting, Peterson said they were “able to respond to it with some degree of humor, which then people completely misunderstood.”
He’s not upset, however, by the casting of Star Trek star Chris Pine, whom Peterson says is a “very good-looking man.” He only hopes Pine will correctly represent his flair for fashion, he joked.
But Morgan was more interested in Peterson’s difficulty with being seen as a villain.
“I mean, you’ve been so controlled today, and yet in that brief moment, you got very emotional,” he said. “Why?”
Tears again threatened to spill from Peterson’s eyes.
“It’s really something to see — constantly how many people are dying for lack of an encouraging word,” he said. “And how easy it is to provide that. If you’re careful, you know, give credit where credit is due and to say you’re a net force for good if you wanna be.”
Asked if he believed he was a “net force for good,” he answered with humility and honesty — traits Wilde clearly does not value.
“Net? Yes,” he replied. “In all the details? Probably not. You know, no one’s perfect. So, people make their mistakes as they stumble uphill.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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